The Roast Collection: Events to catch this month

A top chef once said, “Victoria is a sensational place for growing great food because it has real seasons.” Vegetables change with the cold he explained, “Frost gives cabbages a purple blush while carrots store their sugar making them the sweetest, tastiest winter vegetable.” He also said that pigs put on extra layers of fat to last through the winter. “So now is the best time to eat pork because it is at its most succulent.”

With just over a week left of The Roast Collection, here are some mouth-watering events you really shouldn't miss.

Pork and cabbage come together in perfect unison in Alsace’s most famous dish choucroute garnie, served this Sunday at Union Dining’s contribution to The Roast Collection. UsingWestern Plains Pork and served with De Bortoli’s Pinot Gris this is a sensational part of the 80 event strong celebration of Victorian produce, wine and beer.

Each Friday night in June The Wharf Hotel has been serving up spit roasted joints of pork and lamb, carving off juicy morsels to fill crunchy bread rolls, teamed with local beer. Make sure you catch their last spit roast this Friday night. Also in the city, chef Riccardo Momesso from Sarti restaurant is serving up pig of a slightly more savage nature - wild boar cooked to his mother’s time honoured Calabrian recipe, as well as goat and lamb at their lunchtime Roast Collection special, continuing for the rest of June.

The same chef who extolled the pleasures of winter also said that there are several ways to roast. ‘”You either hit meat hot and hard and let it rest,” he said. “Or treat it low and slow and let time do the work.” This weekend sees the team at Circa, the Prince fall into the first camp and cook local pigeon, pheasant and venison, seasoned with native spices, directly over an aromatic wood grill. “The flavour the wood brings to the food is sensational,” says chef Jake Nicolson. These lean meats are offered with a large selection of Victorian wines chosen by Circa’s sommelier.

Leaner meats have also starred at The Post Office Hotel in Coburg with rabbit from Warren and Hutch, slow cooked shoulders of Seven Hills goat and Goulburn River Trout this month.

With over a week to go there are still many special events taking place - from lunches and dinners to hands-on classes - that celebrate Victoria’s best meat, game, poultry, vegetables, fruit, wine and beer. These are all products available in markets and stores across the state and by stocking your fridge, pantry and cellar with local produce you’re taking part in a growing movement to directly support fellow Victorians. So why don’t you Put Victoria on Your Table?